


Study!

by soubusen



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-14
Updated: 2013-05-14
Packaged: 2017-12-11 19:52:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/802565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soubusen/pseuds/soubusen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a hot summer day and Aiba has a test the next day but decides the best thing to do is to make Nino watch over him and force him to study.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Study!

The sound of seconds ticking by on his bedroom wall clock dominated his senses. His window was open, letting in the occasional mid-summer breeze, but even with electric fan on High not more than a meter away from him, the teenager’s lightly tanned skin was speckled with perspiration. His worn, oversized singlet clung to his back, highlighting his lanky figure. He stopped twirling the pen between his fingers and dropped it into the spine of his textbook before clasping his hands together and stretching them above his head towards the ceiling. “Ahhh, it’s hot~” he uttered, leaning back into his chair. 

“Study.” 

The mumble of a reply came from the smaller boy sprawled on his back on his best friend’s bed. His eyes were fixated on the screen of the light blue NDS Lite clutched naturally between his somewhat stubby hands, fingers endlessly tapping away at the console’s small buttons. 

The boy at the desk groaned but otherwise said nothing, slumping forward onto his books. He managed to read one more sentence before his eyes and mind once again drifted. That’s right, he had icecream in his fridge. Surely Nino would be happy if he went and got them some icecream? With that thought he stood up and made for the door, only to be interrupted by the sharp voice of his companion from his bed.

“Where are you going?” 

“Icecream?”

“We just had watermelon.”

“...So?”

“Study.”

“But-”

“We decided that break time’s every half hour. It’s only been 5 minutes. Study.” replied Nino, the younger boy. His eyes never even left his console.

Aiba glanced at his clock. True to Nino’s words, only 5 minutes had passed since they had finished their watermelon and he had started studying. He sighed exaggeratedly, then dragged himself back to the desk, sulking the whole way. Again, his friend on the bed didn’t even spare him a glance. 

Chewing his bottom lip, the taller boy picked up his pen and started on the next page of questions. It wasn’t that the problems were hard, in fact he thought he could get most of them correct if he really spent some time on them. Rather, they were just plain _boring_ and Aiba could think of hundreds of other things he would much rather be doing. Like playing a bit of baseball in the scorching heat outside, or eating icecream, or even something completely random, like watching his best friend’s eyes light up in happiness when he defeated the next boss. Before he himself realized it, his eyes had drifted off to the side in an unfocused daze in the direction of his bed and the boy on top of it. So he couldn’t go outside and play baseball nor could he eat icecream for at least another 25 minutes, but there was nothing _really_ stopping him from sneaking a few glances at Nino, right? 

Although the younger boy appeared to be wholly absorbed in his game, Aiba made sure to be extra cautious. Propping his right cheek on his hand, he spent a few seconds staring down at the jumble of numbers on his textbook before he experimentally flicked his gaze over to his bed. This way, he could look to the side without turning his head too obviously and risk being noticed by Nino. It was the perfect plan. Trial 1, success. 

Nino’s skin was pale against his dark colored bedsheets. His haphazard position on the bed made his already loose t-shirt ride up the slightest bit, revealing a thin expanse of his slightly pudgy stomach. His prominent collarbones were shiny with the tell-tale signs of sweat, while his fluffy-looking hair was messy and sticking up in a dozen too many directions. Trial 2, 20 seconds, success. Switching his gaze back to his books, Aiba fought the urge to crack a triumphant smile. 

He solved the next question on his problem sheet, then sneaked another peek over at the bed. The younger boy had now drawn his legs up to his chest, dangling them midair as his fingers continued to press at his console. His new position made him look even more like a puppy curled up on its back, waiting for his owner to scratch his stomach. Aiba bit his lip to prevent himself from laughing. The mole on Nino’s chin drew the taller boy’s attention next, and---

“Hey creep.”

Aiba’s eyes widened momentarily at the boy’s sudden outburst, and he tore his gaze back onto his books as quickly as he could, sitting at his desk as still as a rock in his best attempt to look like he was thinking very deeply about a question on his paper. Could it be that Trial 3 already was a failure? He stared at his books, counting each second that ticked away on his clock. 5...10...15... When there were no further sounds from the bed, Aiba dared to take another peek. 

“Oi.”

This time, the word were shot at him before he even had a chance to observe anything. Aiba stiffened and returned his eyes to his books, his eyebrows furrowed in thought. How had Nino known he wasn’t studying anyway? His eyes never even left the tiny screen of his console! Was it just a badly timed coincidence? Aiba decided to try again. His gaze shifted to the bed.

“Study.”

The reply came instantaneously, like a bullet shot from a gun when its trigger is pulled. But yet again, the boy’s eyes hadn’t shifted from his game. What kind of sorcery was this? Could it be that Nino was actually psychic? Countless hypotheses ran through Aiba’s mind, but Nino-is-actually-psychic remained at the top of the list.

Aiba pouted. Now, on top of not being able to play baseball and eat icecream, he couldn’t even look at Nino. This was no fun at all. He heaved a sigh and folded his arms on the table, resting his chin on the cool wooden surface. Balancing his pen on his upper lip, the bored teenager stared out his bedroom window.

The sun was beating down relentlessly and the streets were quiet save the occasional chirp from the few birds huddled in a strip of shade on the pavement. In fact, it was the perfect atmosphere for a nice afternoon nap. If only he didn’t have a test the next day...

Thoughts ran flowed continuously through his mind like a waterfall, until they were interrupted by the chime of his wall clock indicating a new hour. Pulled out of his daydreams, the boy glanced up and his mouth fell open in surprise. It was 1 o’clock. He’d been staring out the window for a good 15 minutes. He stared back at his problem sheet. It was blank expect for the first three questions. Three questions in half an hour? Not exactly productive. But then, the realization hit him. Three questions in _half an hour_. Half an hour meant break time. Break time. _Icecream_. And maybe a little baseball? 

“Nino, it’s 1!” the re-energized teenager called excitedly, turning to face his friend. 

He got no response from his friend though, because the younger boy was, put simply, out cold. With his DS tossed on the bed beside him, he had fallen asleep on his back with one arm flung over his head, his legs in a strange configuration Aiba thought couldn’t possibly be comfortable. Yet the boy was asleep, his long dark eyelashes fluttering ever so lightly with each even breath he took. 

The initial wave of disappointment washed away and Aiba chuckled quietly. He tiptoed out of his room and returned with two giant bowls of icecream, setting one down on the desk while he held the other in his hands. He plopped himself down on the cool tatami flooring of his room and shoveled a spoon of creamy ice into his mouth, all the while staring at the sleeping figure on his bed. He felt like he’d been granted an exclusive All-You-Can-Stare pass. It was great. 

While he ate, he watched the gentle rise and fall of Nino’s chest, finding it strangely calming. When he was halfway through his bowl, he saw the tip of Nino’s nose twitching, and then held his breath as the boy shifted in his sleep and rubbed his nose with the back of his hand. Aiba suppressed a giggle when he saw the look of relief on the younger boy’s sleeping face. His nose must have been itchy. 

Aiba wasn’t sure when he had started enjoying watching Nino so much. They had been friends for years now, and spent almost all of the free time they had together. He knew that he liked Nino, a lot. But at the same time, he was confused. He also knew that liked girls a lot, and sports, and well, his dogs. Was it the same kind of ‘like’ though? How would he know if it, this ‘like’ for Nino, was something more? They were still young, inexperienced and cluelessly curious. Should he just follow his instincts? To begin with, what were his instincts telling him to do anyway? Aiba didn’t know. All this thinking was making his brain spin.

Two more spoonfuls of icecream and his bowl was empty, yet Nino was still asleep. Aiba cast his eyes over to the bowl he had set on his desk and saw that it was melting rapidly. He looked at Nino, whose mouth was gently pouted, and once again saw him rub his face. ‘Cute’ was the only word Aiba could think of to describe the scene. Was it weird to think his best friend was cute? Surely it wasn’t ‘normal’? Aiba frowned. If he recalled correctly, this wasn’t the first time he’d thought this way about Nino. When he saw a flash of his pudgy stomach, he had thought ‘cute’. When he saw him curled up like a puppy on its back, he had thought ‘cute’. And now, when he saw Nino yawn, stretch and rub his eyes with his fist, ‘cute‘ was once again at the tip of his tongue. There were probably many more instances where that was the first word to spring to mind. It seemed that everything the younger boy did was encapsulating. 

Aiba picked up the Nino’s bowl of icecream and walked over to his bed. It was mostly melted now, and naturally, Aiba thought it’d be too much of a waste if Nino didn’t eat it soon. Sniggering when he lowered his weight onto the bed and Nino offered no reaction, he picked up a spoonful of icecream and moved it towards Nino’s half-opened lips. 

A single drop of melted icecream fell onto Nino’s lips, and the taller boy watched intently as the boy on the bed flinched at the sudden coldness. Yet, instead of waking up, the tip of his pink tongue appeared and lapped up the sticky sweet droplet. ‘Cute’, thought Aiba. Giddily excited now, the taller boy tipped the rest of the spoonful of icecream over his friend’s mouth. This time, however, the cold splash was too much, and Nino’s eyes snapped open in alarm. 

“What the hell?!” Nino yelled, voice still cracked with traces of sleep but eyes filled with annoyance.

“Icecream time~~~” Aiba sing-songed, scooping another melted spoonful towards Nino’s mouth.

“Idiot!”

Aiba welped in pain as Nino’s foot collided with his side and he was kicked off his own bed and onto the floor. By some kind of miracle, he landed on his butt and not a single drop of icecream had spilled. Although Nino looked furious, Aiba laughed.

“It’s break time!”

“I could’ve choked and _died_!” Well, that was a bit of an exaggeration, but still, Nino had to get his point across.

“But-”

“Idiot!”

Aiba huffed, then stood up and placed the bowl back onto his desk. He moved to sit back on his bed next to Nino, but was kicked off again almost immediately.

“Ow!” Aiba yelled again as he hit the floor. 

“...And it was all melted!” although still complaining, Nino’s expression had softened.

“Sorry!” Aiba apologized immediately.

“Idiot.” 

Aiba could hear that there was now a hint of amusement in his friend’s tone. He pulled himself up and made for the bed again. This time, to his relief, he wasn’t kicked off.

“Forgive me?”

“Get me a new bowl, and then _maybe_ I will.”

“Okay!” Aiba grinned. Without thinking, he ruffled the younger boy’s already-messy bed-hair and then bounded out of the room. 

“Idiot.” Nino muttered again, smiling to himself but fidgeting when he felt the recently frequent feeling of blood rushing to his ears. 

The older boy had left the room too quickly to catch the his friend’s reaction, but he had heard the familiar insult, “Idiot”, loud and clear. 

Also smiling, Aiba Masaki decided that as long as it was Ninomiya Kazunari who said it, he wouldn’t mind being called an idiot every second second of a day. After all, he couldn’t think of anyone else would could make an insult sound so... cute. Plus, if his Nino-is-actually-psychic-hypothesis was true, and the younger boy hadn’t hinted at wanting to break off their friendship, it meant that he wasn’t opposed to being thought of by his best friend as ‘cute’, right? Maybe things wouldn’t be so difficult and confusing after all.


End file.
